Sponsors

Fur Ball Chairs

Honorary Chair Jill Dean

Jill Deramus Dean was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She earned her BS at the University of Kansas. She’s lived the majority of her life in Kansas City, except for 18 months in St. Louis. Currently she resides in Fairway. She’s been surrounded by animals all of her life, having grown up with dogs, fish, cats, and birds. After getting married, she got a German shepherd with her husband. The dog, Taurus, was her companion and security when her husband was traveling for work. Her children include her daughter, Jenny Dean, who has ragdoll cats; her daughter, Amy (Kirk Johnston), who has ragdoll cats; her son, Marsh (Angie Dean), who has two children and a rabbit; and her son, Logan (Spencer Dean), who has a tuxedo cat. She has a lake house and loves it because she’s able to take all of her animals with her. Jill has another animal-loving sister, Nicky (Lew Bunch), who has three German shepherds and a ragdoll cat.

Jill is thrilled to be a Co-Honorary Chair along with her sister, Jean Deramus Wagner. The Deramus sisters have done much to better the community in which they live. They both credit their father, William Neal Deramus III, for inspiring their commitment to Kansas City. Jill supports Wayside Waifs because of her deep love of animals. Jean adds that she believes Wayside is a great organization that truly believes in what they are doing. Both Jill and Jean have been involved with Wayside Waifs, Starlight Theater, Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI), the Kansas City Zoo, the American Red Cross, the Junior League of Kansas City, and many other organizations. They’ve supported these various causes, served as board members, participated and chaired events, along with raising awareness and funds in other ways.

Honorary Chair Jean Wagner

Jean Deramus Wagner, like her twin sister Jill, was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She earned her BA in Elementary Education from the University of Arizona. Other than the eight years she lived in California, she has called Kansas City her home since. She currently lives near Loose Park. She grew up with animals and commented that her mother loved animals, which is probably why she does as well. Her husband, Don, adores their dog, Webster. She has three children: Christopher (37), who has a Lab/Great Dane mix; Jill (35), who has two Golden Retrievers and a Miniature Pinscher mix; and Mary (30), who has two shelter dogs. She enjoys taking Webster to swim (it’s one of his favorite things to do), loves being a grandmother, and loves all of her animals – including her two 11 year old ragdoll cats.

Jean is thrilled to be a Co-Honorary Chair along with her sister, Jill Deramus Dean. The Deramus sisters have done much to better the community in which they live. They both credit their father, William Neal Deramus III, for inspiring their commitment to Kansas City. Jill supports Wayside Waifs because of her deep love of animals. Jean adds that she believes Wayside is a great organization that truly believes in what they are doing. Both Jill and Jean have been involved with Wayside Waifs, Starlight Theater, Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI), the Kansas City Zoo, the American Red Cross, the Junior League of Kansas City, and many other organizations. They’ve supported these various causes, served as board members, participated and chaired events, along with raising awareness and funds in other ways.

Co-Event Chair Rusty Smith

Rusty Smith was born in Kansas City, Kansas but now lives in Leawood. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) as well as a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration. He also graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law with a JD. Rusty spent his entire career in the Private Wealth Management industry – 29 years at Bank of America – US Trust and six years at UMB Bank. In December of 2018, he was inducted into the Estate Planning Society of Kansas City Hall of Fame. He volunteered at the American Heart Association (Kansas City) from 1985 to 1991 and served on their board – serving one term as Board President. In the early 1990s he got involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Mid-America Chapter and has served on their board since 1995. He was also the President of the board for one term, Vice Chair of Donor Development, and has raised more than $50,000 by participating in various events. In 2017 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his long-standing service to the organization. Rusty is currently the Secretary of the Board of Directors at Wayside. He loves animals because of the unconditional love they provide. When he was young and had moved to a new neighborhood, he’d sit in the backyard with his arm around his black spaniel mix. He’d say the dog “was my best and only friend in the world.”

Rusty and his wife, Martha, are very philanthropic and, in 2017, they received the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraisers award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Mid-America Chapter. Wayside is fortunate enough to have them helping save the lives of animals with their service. Having adopted two dogs from Wayside, Allie and Abby, the Smiths have seen first-hand what a great organization Wayside is and all the great things it does in the animal rescue world. It is also very important to them that Wayside is a no kill shelter. Their 75 pound Boxer, Abby, “is absolutely our best dog ever.” She is famous at Wayside, having appeared twice in the calendar – once she was even on the cover – and for a year she had a street named after her at the shelter – “Abby Road.”

Co-Event Chair Martha Smith

Martha Carpenter Smith was born in Brookfield, Missouri. She grew up in Sumner, MO and has lived in KC since 1974, now she resides with Rusty in Leawood. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with Bachelor of Science [BS] of Business Administration. Martha worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as the Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending for more than 32 years. She was also the Chief Financial Officer at Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist (COR) for more than 4 years. In addition to working at COR, she also currently volunteers there. She is a board Member of the Wesley Foundation, a Congregational Care Minister, on the Finance Committee, and a trustee. She also spends her time volunteering with Ozanam Home (now Cornerstones of Care). She has been a Board Member and an Advisory Board Member. Martha has loved pets all of her life. Growing up on the farm she always had a dog and several cats plus farm animals. They were all given loving care by the family.

Martha and her husband, Rusty, are very philanthropic and, in 2017, they received the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraisers award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Mid-America Chapter. Wayside is fortunate enough to have them helping save the lives of animals with their service. Having adopted two dogs from Wayside, Allie and Abby, the Smiths have seen first-hand what a great organization Wayside is and all the great things it does in the animal rescue world. It is also very important to them that Wayside is a no kill shelter. Their 75 pound Boxer, Abby, “is absolutely our best dog ever.” She is famous at Wayside, having appeared twice in the calendar – once she was even on the cover – and for a year she had a street named after her at the shelter – “Abby Road.”

Co-Event Chair David Yost

David Yost was born in Omaha, NE and moved to Kansas City in 1976. He attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City and received his BA in Administration of Justice and JD. He has lived with his wife, Therese, in Weatherby Lake, MO for the past 19 years. David has been President of Midwest Trust Company since 2007. He brought 18 years of experience in trust and investment strategies from his tenure at Bank of America. He has many affiliations: he’s a trustee at UMKC, the chair of UMKC’s Athletic Foundation, a board member for Northland Alternative Services Program, and a board member for the Park Hill Education Foundation.

David and his wife, Therese, have two children, Nolan (New York City) and Claire (Dallas, TX). They were raised with three dogs: Hogan, a black lab; Rosie, a Boston Terrier; and Daisy, a French Bulldog. Hogan was adopted from Wayside over 30 years ago! They both fill spare time by being philanthropic. Their giving hearts stem from different places. David credits his fellow co-event chairs, Rusty and Martha Smith, for showing him the importance of giving back. “They serve their church, various other charities, and of course, Wayside Waifs with passion and joy and it is an honor and pleasure to be a part of this event with them.” Therese was most inspired by her Grandma Kenney for instilling philanthropy in her life. Grandma Kenney helped her community and improved the world for her grandchildren- she encouraged them to do the same.

Co-Event Chair Therese Yost

Therese Yost was born and raised in Sugar Creek, MO. Despite moving to Iowa with her husband, David, for a couple years, she now lives in Weatherby Lake, MO. She attended UMKC where she earned her BA in Administration of Justice and her JD. Law school is where she met David. Therese worked for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the General Counsel after law school. She later worked for herself practicing Social Security disability law. She retired from law a couple of years ago. Throughout her life she has given her time to various organizations such as Stop Violence (now Synergy), Literacy KC, Harvesters, and John Knox Village. Therese supports Wayside Waifs because of the attention paid to both pets and people. “I especially love their Humane Education which helps teach compassion to children, resulting in a better world.”

Therese and her husband, David, have two children, Nolan (New York City) and Claire (Dallas, TX). They were raised with three dogs: Hogan, a black lab; Rosie, a Boston Terrier; and Daisy, a French Bulldog. Hogan was adopted from Wayside over 30 years ago! They both fill spare time by being philanthropic. Their giving hearts stem from different places. David credits his fellow co-event chairs, Rusty and Martha Smith, for showing him the importance of giving back. “They serve their church, various other charities, and of course, Wayside Waifs with passion and joy and it is an honor and pleasure to be a part of this event with them.” Therese was most inspired by her Grandma Kenney for instilling philanthropy in her life. Grandma Kenney helped her community and improved the world for her grandchildren- she encouraged them to do the same.

OUR MISSION

Preparing pets and people for the bond of their lives.

We accomplish our mission by...

Caring for the animals under our watch;

Reaching out to the community for love and support;

Teaching others about the profound joy that pets bring to our lives.

Our Philosophy

Wayside Waifs is committed to finding homes for all adoptable pets. Wayside is the largest pet adoption campus in Kansas City, placing nearly 6,000 animals each year in loving forever homes.

Wayside does not euthanize adoptable animals, and there are no time limits for animals in our care. Only animals suffering from significant medical issues or those that pose danger are humanely euthanized. Wayside Waifs is proud to be a part of Kansas City’s no kill community.